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Jacob’s Ladder – Day 13

The bubbling, the frying, the arrival of friends for lunch. This is a simpler waiting. A waiting for good things. Food is nourished with meaning so that as we eat together it is no longer an intake of nutrients but something far more wholesome and good. Worth the wait.

But you can’t really hear it. There’s a lot of sound in the background (not noise in my opinion) and this is because the work sits in the space and time in between events. Today’s event in the church hall is Living Well. Every Friday there’s lunch for those around Penge who don’t have enough to eat, or have problems with substance abuse or any other abuse.

It’s an astonishing time where nearly 80 – 90 people come every week for a well cooked lunch. The video starts at the point where people are leaving but the conversation levels are still quite high. The work is still sounding but it’s nearly impossible to hear it. This is the case even if you’re directly underneath the speakers. As soon as the conversation quietens down the work comes strongly to the foreground.

The work here is moving in and out of the foreground and I wonder what that means for art works in general that are not directly performative. In this case the attention of the listener is not what brings the work to the foreground but it is a communal quietening that allows the work to knock on the attention of the listener. At the point the listener can listen seriously or go about their own business as you can see in the video.

I think this adds another layer. Like that extra bit of cream inbetween the jam and butter. Yes, back to food again!